Cartridge-loaded sound motion picture projection

ABSTRACT

A cartridge containing an endless loop of motion picture film is inserted into a projector having a shutter, a frame advancing claw and a resiliently mounted drive pinion. The cartirdge includes a drive wheel mounted in an opening therein which cooperates with the drive pinion of the projector for continuously advancing the film mounted in the opening. The resiliently mounted drive pinion is positioned in the projector so that it is beyond the dead center position of the drive wheel when the cartridge is fully inserted into the projector for holding the same in place.

United States Patent 1191 Castellano et a1.

[4 Dec. 11, 1973 CARTRIDGE-LOADED SOUND MOTION 3,278,252 10/1966 Wagneret a1 352/78 R x plCTURE PROJECTION 3,033,074 5/1962 Schaefcr 352/2243,176,310 3/1965 Finnerty 352/72 X [75] Inventors: Peter J. Castellano,Deer Park;

Jerry H. GaIuten Elmhurst of N.Y. 15,357 4/1912 France 352/239 {73]Assignee: Audio-Optics Corporation, New

York Primary ExamznerFred L. Braun Attorney-Max Dressler et a1. [22]Filed: Sept. 25, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 292,116 [57] ABSTRACT Related US.Application Data A cartridge containing an endless loop of motion pic-[62' BMW," M5 ML 65,869v Aug 2] 1970' ture film is inserted into aprojector having a shutter, 21 frame advancing claw and a resilientlymounted 52 us. c1 352/72, 242/5519 A, 352/239 drive P The Carthdgeincludes a drive Wheel 51 1111. C1. G03b 23/02 mounted in an openingtherein which cooperates with [58] Field of Search 352/72, 78 R, 128,the drive Pinion of the Projector for continuously 52 239, 221, 242/5519 A vancing the film mounted in the opening. The resiliently mounteddrive pinion is positioned in the pro- 5 References Cited jector so thatit is beyond the dead center position of UNITED STATES PATENTS the drivewheel when the cartridge is fully inserted into the projector forholding the same in place. 3,212,837 10/1965 Beyer 352/72 3,305,2962/1967 Nicosia 352/78 R X 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures r 1 1 i" I i I I64 60. Q s Q 35 57 3 43 Q 54 5 2 55 4 I hul 29 44 ,0 33 IIIHHIW 5 2/PAIENTEBUEBI 1 ma SHEET 2 [1F 3 PATENTEI] DEC] 1 I975 SHEET 3 BF 3CARTRIDGE-LOADED SOUND MOTION PICTURE PROJECTION The present applicationis a division of our prior copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No.65,869, filed Aug. 21, 1970.

The present invention relates to cartridge-loaded motion pictureprojectors and particularly to projectors for dislaying both motionpictures and sound coordinated therewith. The essence of the inventionis the film and the way it is handled.

A practical cartridge-loaded sound motion picture projector requires acombination of many features, the main ones being as follows.

First, a cartridge of practical size must contain a considerable lengthof film with coordinated sound and the individual pictures must be ofsufficient size for efficient projection. Moreover, the film must alwaysmove in one direction. This requires a combination of structures notpresent in film used heretofore.

Second, the cartridge must be easily and reliably insertable andwithdrawable at any time with both sound and picture functioning withoutthe need to frame the picture and without endangering the film in thecartridge.

It is also desirable to minimize the size and complexity of theprojector and to employ cartridges of minimum complexity and maximumreliability and these are further criterion of significance to theinvention.

In accordance with the invention, the film is employed in a cartridgewith the film moving continuously in one direction and with the filmincluding at least two horizontally extending rows of pictures, at leastone row on the upper half of the film, and at least one row on the lowerhalf of the film, said rows being symmetrically positioned with respectto the axis of the film. Each row of pictures is provided with its ownassociated magnetic sound track, the sound track for one row of picturesbeing on one side of the film and the sound track for the other row ofpictures being on the opposite side of the film and the entire strip offilm having its opposite ends secured together with one end of the filmbeing rotated with respect to the other so that, where the film endscome together, the rows of pictures are on opposite sides of the filmand the magnetic sound tracks come together on the same side of thefilm. As a result, the two rows of pictures and the two sound tracksmerge and form a single continuoussound motion picture presentation.

In preferred practice, the number and size of the pictures which can bestored on a strip of film of given width and length is further maximizedby first having the pictures placed on the film side by side, with thevertical axis of each picture perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe film, and with each picture being longer in the direction of thelength of the film that it is in the direction of the width of the film.In this way, a narrow film can hold two rows of large pictures which canbe viewed without excessive enlargement. Second, the drive sprocketholes in the film are placed along the longitudinal axis of the film. Inthis way, the width of the film is interrupted by only a single row ofholes, leaving more of the width of the film to carry the desired rowsof pictures.

If the cartridge feed is to be operated simply, then means must beprovided to automatically frame the picture and eliminate the need foran unskilled operator to adjust something which he does not known how tocorrect. Also, framing means on a projector requires rather complex andexpensive structure, and it is desired to eliminate this. In the presentinvention, only a single sprocket hole is provided per picture and aclaw advance is used, the claw advance being directly coordinated withthe shutter of the projector. In this way, the claw automaticallypositions each picture correctly with respect to the shutter and nomeans are provided for changing this relationship. In contrast, inconventional picture projection, more than one sprocket opening isprovided for each picture frame and separate means are provided tosynchronize the film advance with the shutter to cause the film to bestopped and the shutter opened only when the picture is properlypositioned.

To enable the desired automatic framing, the film is free for lateralmovement in the gate to be controlled entirely by the claw advance andthe gate floats freely to be positioned by the mechanism which supportsthe claw so that the gate will accurately position the film with respectto the lens system used and with respect to the level of the claw whileleaving the film free to move in all other respects.

Also, in this invention, focus requires little if any adjustment.Indeed, the free floating gate used herein enables the lenses used forprojection to be preadjusted prior to sale of the projector and usedwithout further adjustment. Moreover, the focus is not significantlyeffected by the fact that the image which is projected is differentlypositioned by the thickness of the film. This further simplifiesoperation and construction.

The invention includes numerous features which will become more apparentfrom the description which follows, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing the interconnection betweenopposite ends of an illustrative film constructed in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing a cartridge constructed in accordancewith the invention, but with the top of the cartridge removed to enablethe interior structure to be seen;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing the cartridge as in FIG. 2 inprojecting position in the projector,

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional elevation showing overall operation andpartly diagrammatic;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional plan view showing the details of the gateand its utilization; and

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the cartridge and associated projectorand illustrating the sound pick-up construction.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the film structure used inthe invention will be more fully understood from FIG. 1 in which thefilm identified by numeral 10 has opposite ends 11 and 12 joinedtogether at 13. As will be seen, the end 12 is rotated with respect toend 11 so that the emulsion side of the film on the secured togetherends is oppositely disposed at the point of the splice. This involves arotation of or 540, etc., as will be apparent.

The emulsion side of the film 10 is formed with two horizontallyextending rows of pictures, namely, upper row A and lower row B, theserows being symmetrically positioned with respect to the axis of thefilm. Each row of pictures is provided with its own associated magneticsound track, namely, upper magnetic track A and lower magnetic track B.These sound tracks are also symmetrically positioned with respect to theaxis of the film. However, one of the sound tracks is on the oppositeside of the film, e.g., magnetic track B. As will be more apparenthereinafter, when the continuous film is moved continuously andendlessly in one direction, (see arrow) picture row A will be projectedin its entirety from start to finish, followed by picture row B. Withcontinued projection, picture rows A and B will be seen in sequencewithout end. At the same time, the magnetic sound tracks A and B cometogether to form a continuous sound track which can be detected with asingle magnetic sound pick up.

It will be noted that the pictures in each of rows A and B are placedside-by-side and the vertical axis of each picture is perpendicular tothe axis of the film. To identify the orientation of each picture orframe, the letter J is shown for each picture exactly as it would appearon the film. Ordinarily, the projected film is viewed right side up sothat the top of the subject in each row of pictures points toward theaxis of the film. However, in aircraft for example, the picture would beprojected from overhead and, for such upside down projection, thereverse would be true with the top of each picture being on'the outsideof the film. Nonetheless, the vertical axis will still be disposed asdescribed.

A feature of the invention is the fact that each picture is longer inthe direction of the length of the film than it is in the direction ofthe width of the film. This enables two rows of relatively largepictures to be positioned on a narrow film. However, this would simplyrequire a longer film unless,as in the invention, some way is found toincrease the number of rows of pictures which can be present andprojected on a continuously moving film with sound tracks effectivelyaccompanying all the rows of pictures.

The invention also employs a symmetrical drive which, in preferredpractice, employs a single row of sprocket holes 14 strung out along theaxis of the film. One hole 14 is provided for each picture (the picturesin rows A and B are vertically aligned) and this enables automaticframing as will later be described.

It will be understood that only one pair of picture rows A and B withassociated magnetic tracks A and B are shown, but there could be severalsuch pairs, depending on the width of the film and the desired picturesize.

It will also be noted through the use of dotted lines, that if the filmis run endlessly, the emulsion side of the film is oppositely disposedevery time the film is run through the projector. It has been found thatthis minor displacement of the image to be projected by the width of thefilm does not significantly disturb the focus, though focusing means canbe provided on the projector.

Referring to FIG. 2, the continuous film with the rotated securedopposite ends shown in FIG. 1 is disposed in a cartridge 20. Thecartridge comprises a supporting platform 21, a front wall 22 having agate-receiving opening 23, and side walls 24 and 25. Walls 22 and 24 andplatform 21 are formed with an opening 26 for the drive mechanism andwall 24 has an opening 27 for the sound pick up. The cartridge also hasa rear wall 28 and the platform 21 is formed with a mirror opening 29adjacent the gate opening 23.

Forming part of the platform 21 is a raised core 30 about which thecontinuous film 10 is reeled, the reel of film being identified at 31.The film in reel 31 is held down by hold down wire 32 fastened by screws33 and 34. Of course, the top of the cartridge can be used to hold downthe reel 31.

The platfrm 21 also carries a gate 35 which is biased forwardly into thegate opening 23 by springs 36 and 37. Platform 21 also supports thedrive wheel 38 which, in turn, supports the sprocket drive 39, themagnetic sound, pick up structure 40 (details conventional and notshown) and the film guides 41, 42, 43 and 44.

The guides 41 and 44 are special and are configured to contact the filmwith a tightly curved surface having a radius smaller than the naturalcurvature of the film. This provides a resilience in operation whichtakes the place of the conventional loops which are used to enable thefilm to be moved at a uniform rate except in the film viewing area(which is essential to sound pick up at 40) and to be movedintermittently in the projection area where intermittent movement isessential to the projection of motion pictures.

Following the movement of the film 10 in the cartridge, the film leavesreel 31 when it reaches the core 30 and passes under wire 32. From thewire 32, the film rises (conveniently twists here as shown at and thenpasses through sound pick up 40. The film is pulled by sprocket drive 39powered by drive wheel 38 and the film is then pushed past flexing guide41 and thence past guide 42 to the gate 35. Within the gate, the film ismoved intermittently under the control of a claw forming part of theprojector. From gate 35, the film proceeds via guide 43 to flexing guide44 and then to the outside of the reel 31.

In FIG. 3, cartridge 20 is shown inserted into the projector onto asupporting platform 51. Guide rails 52 and 53 are used to guide thecartridge, guide rail 52 terminating short of a drive pinion 54 whichextends upwardly through slot 55 in the platform to become engaged withthe drive wheel 38 as the cartridge nears the forward end of itsinsertion stroke. It will be seen that the pinion 54 is spring biased inthe direction shown by arrow 56 to bear against drive wheel 38 and itis-positioned so that it moves beyond the dead center position 57 ofdrive wheel 38 when the cartridge is fully inserted.

When the cartridge 20 is fully inserted, the mirror opening 29 overliesa mirror 58 which is pivoted into position and, beneath the mirror 58 isa light source (not shown) and a shutter 59.

Cartridge 20 as it nears the end of its insertion stroke forces gate 35against abutment 60 which includes means described hereinafter to alignthe gate 35 and a microswitch 61 is contacted at the point of fullinsertion to actuate all of the powered mechanisms of the projector.Thus, when microswitch 61 is contacted, it turns on an electric motor(not shown) which drives pinion 54, reciprocates claw 62 as shown byarrows 63, and operates shutter 59. The microswitch also energizes theaudio amplifier and lights the lamp 68. The claw 62 is synchronized withthe shutter 59 in conventional fashion with the shutter opening at theend of each pulling stroke and closing before the start of the nextreaching stroke. No means are provided for varying this synchronization.Means may optionally be provided to vary the length of the stroke of theclaw 62.

The projection beam in FIG. 3 comes through shutter 59 to strike mirror58 where it is reflected through the film in gate 35 and the light imageso-produced is projected by lenses 64 to a mirror 65 from which it isreflected to a rear projector screen not shown in FIG. 3 but showndiagrammatically in FIG. 4. The rear wall of the projector is identifiedat 66.

The overall operation can be seen in FIG. 4 where the cartridge 20 inits fully inserted horizontal position is shown resting on platform 51pressed against abuttment 60 which includes a projection opening 67through which claw 62 reaches to grasp the sprocket holes in the film10.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, light from lamp 68 passes through shutter 59and thence via mirror 58, through the film in gate 35, through opening67 and through lenses 64. The image reflected from mirror 65 appears onthe rear projection screen 69 and can be seen by viewing in thedirection of arrow 70.

In FIG. 5, it will be seen that gate 35 is formed with a longitudinalgroove 71 within which film slides freely to be moved intermittently byclaw 62 in the direction as indicated by the arrow. The motion of theclaw is shown by arrows 63. The film is viewed through opening 72 in thegate 35 and the claw 62 engages the sprocket openings in film 10 byextending through a second opening 73 in the gate 35. Pins 74 arecarried by abuttment 60 and these enter holes 74 in the gate 35 belowthe groove 71 in which the film l0 slides.

It will be understood that one cannot know that the film 10 will be inproper framing position, but if it is not, then claw 62 will not graspthe film until it enters one of the sprocket holes at which pointintermittent advance of the properly framed film will commence.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 6, the structure used for the soundpick-up and the traverse of the film inthe area of the sound pick-up isshown in greater detail.

As can be seen, the film 10 passes guides 80, 81, 82

and 83 on its way to the drive 39. The guide 81 is a roller since thishelps to smooth the linear movement of the film past the sound pick-uphead 84 which is integral with audio-amplifier 85. Amplifier 85 iscarried by the projector on the platform 51.

The film 10 is biased against pick-up head 84 by a spring loadedpressure pad 86.

The invention is defined in the claims which follow.

We claim:

1. In combination: a projector including a projection system comprisinga shutter, a claw for advancing film one frame at a time, and aresiliently mounted drive pinion; and a cartridge containing film andhaving a gate in a front wall of said cartridge for holding said film ina position to be projected and engaged by said claw, said cartridgehaving an opening positioned at the juncture of said front wall and aside wall of said cartridge and a drive wheel for continuously advancingsaid film mounted in said opening, said drive wheel and said openingbeing positioned in said cartridge in the path of said pinion so thatsaid pinion is moved laterally of the path of movement of said drivewheel when said cartridge is inserted in said projector, said pinionbeing biased toward said drive wheel and positioned to engage said drivewheel when said cartridge is partially inserted into said projector andto maintain contact with said drive wheel until said cartridge is fullyinserted at which point said pinion is moved past the dead centerposition of said drive wheel to resiliently hold said cartridge inplace, and said projector including a microswitch which is operated toactuate said projector, including said claw and said drive pinion, whensaid cartridge is fully inserted into said projector.

2. A combination as recited in claim 1 in which said film is in the formof a closed loop mounted for movement continuously and endlessly in onedirection.

3. A combination as recited in claim 2 in which the opposite ends ofsaid film are secured to one another with one of said ends being rotatedwith respect to the other of said ends so that opposite sides of saidfilm will contact said gate on successive passes of said closed loop.

4. A combination as recited in claim 1 in which said drive wheel carriesa sprocket drive for carrying said film out of contact with said drivepinion.

5. A combination as recited in claim 1 in which said cartridge includesloop maintaining means on both sides of said gate, each of said meansbeing constituted by a guide around which the film is run, with theportion of the guide around which the film moves having a curvature ofsmaller radius than the minimum natural turn radius of the film.

1. In combination: a projector including a projection system comprisinga shutter, a claw for advancing film one frame at a time, and aresiliently mounted drive pinion; and a cartridge containing film andhaving a gate in a front wall of said cartridge for holding said film ina position to be projected and engaged by said claw, said cartridgehaving an opening positioned at the juncture of said front wall and aside wall of said cartridge and a drive wheel for continuously advancingsaid film mounted in said opening, said drive wheel and said openingbeing positioned in said cartridge in the path of said pinion so thatsaid pinion is moved laterally of the path of movement of said drivewheel when said cartridge is inserted in said projector, said pinionbeing biased toward said drive wheel and positioned to engage said drivewheel when said cartridge is partially inserted into said projector andto maintain contact with said drive wheel until said cartridge is fullyinserted at which point said pinion is moved past the dead centerposition of said drive wheel to resiliently hold said cartridge inplace, and said projector including a microswitch which is operated toactuate said projector, including said claw and said drive pinion, whensaid cartridge is fully inserted into said projector.
 2. A combinationas recited in claim 1 in which said film is in the form of a closed loopmounted for movement continuously and endlessly in one direction.
 3. Acombination as recited in claim 2 in which the opposite ends of saidfilm are secured to one another with one of said ends being rotated withrespect to the other of said ends so that opposite sides of said filmwill contact said gate on successive passes of said closed loop.
 4. Acombination as recited in claim 1 in which said drive wheel carries asprocket drive for carrying said film out of contact with said drivepinion.
 5. A combination as recited in claim 1 in which said cartridgeincludes loop maintaining means on both sides of said gate, each of saidmeans being constituted by a guide around which the film is run, withthe portion of the guide around which the film moves having a curvatureof smaller radius than the minimum natural turn radius of the film.